filmland / By Charlie Myers

All Bases Covered

Powerful ‘Elah,’ ‘Chatterley’ offer thrilling film experiences

(Oct. 4, 2007) Previews

No, I can’t get enough of Jane Austen. Opening Friday, Oct. 5, is The Jane Austen Book Club, based on the popular novel by Karen Joy Fowler. Written and directed by Robin Swicord, who wrote the screenplay for Memoirs of a Geisha, the story is about a Jane Austen book club in California whose members begin to realize their lives resemble those in the novels. The excellent cast includes Mario Bello, Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman and Jimmy Smits. Obviously my pick for the week. Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content, brief strong language and some drug use. 116 m. At the Broadway.

The Farrelly brothers return with their twist on Neil Simon’s The Heartbreak Kid. Shifting coasts from the original, the film follows a guy from San Francisco (Ben Stiller) who marries the prototypical blonde bombshell only to catch a yen for a brunette (Michelle Monaghan) while honeymooning in Mexico. That’s two twists already and, frankly, Simon could use some help. Rated R for strong sexual content, crude humor and language. 125 m. At the Broadway, Mill Creek and Fortuna.

The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising is a fantasy/action film based on the novel by British writer Susan Cooper. The story centers on Will Stanton (Alexander Ludwig) who travels back-and-forth in time to fight the dark forces with the fate of Earth in the balance, as always. With Ian McShane and Frances Conroy. Rated PG for fantasy action and some scary images. 104 m (uncertain). At the Broadway, Mill Creek and Fortuna.

Based on the life of the famous French comic playwright, Molière begins with the playwright establishing his theatre in Paris, bequeathed by King Louis XIV, then proceeds with flashbacks to his earlier traveling troupe days where he learned his craft. Molière’s plays are excellent; I hope the film measures up. In French with English subtitles. Rated PG-13 for sexual situations. 139 m. At the Minor.

Wendy Butler of the Eureka Reporter hosts The Hound of the Baskervilles in the second of the Eureka Library’s October series “Watching the Detectives.” The famous 1939 film stars, of course, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. The program starts promptly at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Library on Tuesday, Oct. 9.

Reviews

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH: For the second week in a row, a film opened locally that provides a powerful viewing experience. In the Valley of Elah (the title comes from the Biblical story of David and Goliath) draws its power by using a familiar narrative variation of the police procedural — an “amateur detective” clashes with a regular police detective, but the two end up working together to solve the case.

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